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After two weeks of the 2015 season, it's clear the Washington Redskins are growing up as a team.

The latest sign of that was Sunday's 24-10 thumping of the St. Louis Rams. The Redskins turned in solid performances on offense, defense and special teams and dominated nearly the entire game. It's been a long time since they crafted such a decisive victory, but they embarrassed a Rams team that destroyed them the year before, 24-0, and its coach, Jeff Fisher, who sent the six players acquired in the 2012 trade that enabled the Redskins to draft Robert Griffin for the coin toss before the 2014 game.

Quarterback Kirk Cousins was on point after Sunday's game, saying his Redskins are learning how to win.

”As a young player, you learn how to win, and you learn what it takes, and I feel like we’re in this process now," Cousins said. "I don’t know if I as a young player last year knew how to win. I think I’m still in that process trying to get there, and it’s something that I think if we keep playing through it with some of these young guys and keep growing and learning together. I’m excited about what the future could hold if we could keep growing and learning and pushing through things together.”

Not often does an NFL team face a “must-win” situation in its second game of the season, but the Redskins did on Sunday. Coming off a 17-10 season-opening loss to Miami, a game they were in position to win, they knew that losing their first two games at home could derail their season. Plus, things may have gotten bleaker with the division-rival Giants ahead on Thursday, for it's always tough to play in the Meadowlands. A series of early losses would certainly trigger questions about the future of coach Jay Gruden, who produced a 4-12 mark in his first season.

But this Redskin team is noticeably different from the past two disastrous seasons. It's a deeper squad because of general manager Scot McCloughan's acquisition of rookies who are playing impactful roles such as guard Brandon Scherff, running back Matt Jones, linebacker Preston Smith and punt returner-receiver Jamison Crowder. McCloughan also orchestrated the signing of key free agents such as defensive linemen Terrance Knighton and Stephen Paea. His keen sense for talent, which he displayed in previous stops in San Francisco and Seattle, is showing.

For the second straight week, the Redskins owned their opponent statistically. They outgained St. Louis in yards, 373-213, and had a 37:44 to 22:16 edge in time of possession. Those numbers are largely attributable to their emphasis on the ground game with their one-two punch of rookie Matt Jones and fourth-year man Alfred Morris.

Cousins, for his part, played his best game as a Redskin. He completed 23 of 27 passes for 203 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions for a 110.3 quarterback rating against one of the better defenses in the NFL. He also led the defining drive of the game, one that shows the Redskins are learning how to put the dagger in opponents.

The Redskins, holding a precarious 17-10 lead, began the drive on their 23 with 9:27 to play. Twelve plays later, they were in the end zone on Jones’ 3-yard scoring run and leading, 24-10. The pivotal play was a 29-yard pass from Cousins to tight end Jordan Reed on a 3rd and 5 from the Washington 40.

It was the type of emphatic drive and play that the Redskins couldn’t execute with any regularity in past years but worked to perfection against the Rams. The season is only two games old, but it’s clear this is a much more confident Redskin team. As Cousins put it, “We found a way to win.”

“That drive definitely shows we’re getting better,” said Reed, who caught six passes for 82 yards after being a little gimpy in practice leading up to the game. “We’re executing. The coaches are getting us in the right situations.”

A force emerged for the Redskins against the Rams. Jones, using his violent downhill running style, rushed for 123 yards on 19 carries (6.5 average) with two touchdowns. He left no doubt that he’ll be a load for defenses. The Redskins are going to be very run-oriented this season, and we’re going to be seeing a lot of Jones and Morris. That sounds good to me because, as Gruden put it, the run game is the “blueprint” for most successful teams in the NFL.

“You look at all of the successful teams in the history of this league, very few of them are throwing 70 times a game,” he said. “We have a young quarterback, we don’t want to throw the ball 50 times. We want to run the ball, be physical. (It) opens up a lot of things for us, controls the clock like it did again today.”

I must also give accolades to the Redskins’ defense. The unit yielded only 213 yards to the Rams and handcuffed quarterback Nick Foles, applying constant pressure on him. Foles, often looking flummoxed, completed 17 of 32 passes for only 150 yards with a touchdown and a 76.3 passer rating. Through two weeks, the defense has allowed a measly 20 points.

We’re watching a Redskin squad that’s on the right track – one with a swagger that we haven’t seen in years. It’s going to be entertaining this season. Stay tuned.

In an appearance on the show "Hardly Workin' with Greg Burton on ESPN 950, Redskins historian Mike Richman reviews what he thinks are the Top 5 offensive moments in Redskins history and the Top 5 on the defensive side of the ball. Burton interviewed Richman from Redskins training camp in Richmond, Va. ESPN 950 is the ESPN affiliate in Richmond.

Soccer is one of the most popular sports played by children in the United States. At the same time, research is under way to study head injuries such as concussions suffered by youths playing the game and the long-term effects of those injuries.

Soccer players take blows to the head through headers, as well as collisions with other players, the ground and goal posts.

Catherine McGill, a neuropsychologist for the Children’s National Health System in Washington, examines many children who have suffered concussions playing soccer. She said concussions sustained while playing soccer and other youth sports are on the rise for a number of reasons.

With officials from Iran and six world powers reported close to reaching a landmark nuclear deal, speculation is widespread on what the final accord will look like and if it truly will scale back Iran's atomic program.

Iran and the P5 +1 – the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council plus Germany – are negotiating in Vienna, Austria, trying to compromise on the major sticking points.

Iran insists it will not allow international inspectors access to military sites, to interview scientists or to review documents to verify its compliance with a nuclear deal.

The American women just won a record third FIFA World Cup, beating Japan Sunday in Vancouver, Canada, in demonstrative fashion, 5-2. That record is startling considering that international football is far from the most popular professional sport in the United States. Plus, the U.S. women have never finished out of the top three teams since the women's World Cup debuted in 1991, and have never missed out on the Olympic gold medal since winning silver in Sydney, Australia in 2000.

The U.S. men's team, in comparison, lags behind perennial football juggernauts such as Germany, Argentina, the Netherlands and Brazil. The American men have never even made it to the semifinals in the modern era of World Cup competition, and only made it to the quarterfinals once, in 2002.

When Iran and world powers reached a framework in April for a final comprehensive nuclear agreement, U.S.President Barack Obama hailed the accord as one that would "cut off every pathway that Iran could take to develop a nuclear weapon."

"Iran will face strict limitations on its program, and Iran has also agreed to the most robust and intrusive inspections and transparency regime ever negotiated for any nuclear program in history,” Obama said at the time.

With just days remaining until the deadline for a final agreement, major differences exist between the two sides that have caused some officials to voice concern that the deadline will not be met.

More than 6,000 athletes from 50 countries converged Friday for the opening ceremonies of the inaugural European Games at Olympic Stadium in Azerbaijan's capital, Baku.

Azerbaijani officials are hoping the biggest athletic event in the country's history, two weeks of competition involving 20 sports to be broadcast in 45 countries in Europe and 98 non-European nations, will put the former Soviet republic on the 21st century map. Some of the sports will serve as qualifiers for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

But the games are taking place under a cloud of controversy because of Azerbaijan's record of suppressing democracy and free speech and cracking down on journalists, activists and opponents of the autocratic regime of President Ilham Aliyev.

Law enforcement officers gather on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol in Washington Friday for a memorial service and wreath-laying ceremony in honor of fellow officers killed in the line of duty. The event culminates National Police Week, the annual tribute to law enforcement service and sacrifice.

And this year the memorial service may be particularly sobering. Police fatalities in the line of duty are up dramatically.

Last week, Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby indicted six police officers on charges including second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, criminal negligence and police misconduct in the case of Freddie Gray, a black man who died while in police custody last month.

The announcement by the 35-year-old prosecutor at least temporarily restored stability to a city torn apart by rioting, looting and clashes between protesters and police, and it opened the door for legal experts to weigh in on the legitimacy of those charges.

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Mike Richman is the man with all of the answers when it comes to Redskins history. A journalist who has covered sports for a quarter-century, Mike is the author of the two most comprehensive books on Redskins history – the Washington Redskins Football Vault and The Redskins Encyclopedia. He also served as lead editor and co-author of Joe Gibbs: An Enduring Legacy, a photo-heavy book that highlights the amazing life achievements of legendary Redskins coach Joe Gibbs. Mike's articles on Redskins history have appeared in myriad publications, and he has hosted an award-winning Redskins TV show called “Burgundy & Gold Magazine” and a podcast called "Burgundy & Gold Flashback."

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About Mike

Redskins historian and journalist Mike Richman is the author of the two most comprehensive books on Redskins history – The Redskins Encyclopedia and the Washington Redskins Football Vault: The History of a Proud Franchise. Mike also served as lead editor and co-author of Joe Gibbs: An Enduring Legacy, a photo-heavy book that reviews the amazing life achievements of legendary Redskins coach Joe Gibbs. Mike has also hosted a podcast focusing on Redskins history called "Burgundy & Gold Flashback," which brings listeners front and center with the team's tradition, and he has produced and hosted a TV show called "Burgundy & Gold Magazine." For his work on "Burgundy & Gold Magazine," Mike won first place for sports coverage in the nationally recognized 2013 Hometown Media Awards sponsored by the Alliance for Community Media. He's been interviewed extensively by print and broadcast media on Redskins...